Treading Water
by JWood201
Summary: Mary Ann is tired of feeling scared and helpless, so she recruits Gilligan to toughen her up. Very early Season 1, before and after "How To Be A Hero."
1. Chapter 1

**Treading Water**

_Early Season 1. Before and after "How To Be A Hero."_

_This started out as an "I bet G Man would be an awesome swim instructor" plot bunny and turned into something with themes and metaphors and characters striving for development and blah blah. Sorry about that, haha. Part 1 of 3. I can't promise how quickly the other two will be uploaded, but I was getting antsy about not having uploaded anything in a while. Also, this will encourage me to finish the ending._

_Thanks to Teobi for her constant encouragement, especially of all things MAG. :) You the best, boo. And a shout-out to Louise Hargadon for her triumphant return! Whee!_

**One**

Mary Ann stands on the beach at the lagoon fanning herself with a palm frond. It's the hottest day yet on the island. Her arm burns under her beach towel as the sun beats down on her head. She can feel her shoulders cooking through the thin layer of suntan lotion she managed to scrape from the bottom of the bottle she bought back in Hawaii. The Professor is working on concocting a new formula from ingredients on the island and he better hurry before they all turn into peeling blistering monstrosities. Ginger and the Howells are wisely hiding inside, but Mary Ann stands on the beach, baking, wanting nothing more than to go hide in one of the dark damp caves in the interior of the island.

But she can't leave. She's here on business.

Gilligan is teaching her how to swim.

She never needed to know how to swim in Kansas. There was a lake not too far from town, but Mary Ann had never actually been in it. Mary Ann and her best friend Cindy would spend days there in the summer sometimes. They'd pack up her cousins and Cindy's siblings and watch them play until the hunky kid hired to be the lifeguard got bored and sent them all home. The closest Mary Ann and Cindy ever got to the water was to sit on the edge of the dock and swing their toes through the lake, sucking in their stomachs and giggling every time the lifeguard peered over at them.

When she won the trip to Hawaii, Mary Ann still didn't have the urge to learn how to swim. She was perfectly content to lie on her towel on the beach and read and watch the tourists and revel in the sunshine and the smell of the salt drifting off the ocean.

But on her first day in Hawaii she strode into a beachfront shop and bought herself the cute yellow bikini that was on display in the front window. She knew Aunt Martha and Uncle George would never let her out of the house in it in Kansas, which struck her as ironic considering the length of her shorts. But in Hawaii, three thousand miles away from their disapproving frowns, she was going to wear whatever bathing suit she wanted!

But she didn't.

She got to the beach the first day and saw the gorgeous native Hawaiian girls in their bright colored bikinis and the leggy blonde Swedish tourists and the muscled surfer guys and she sat demurely on her towel reading her romance novel, keeping her dress on over her suit the whole time. The next day she returned to her tried and true black one-piece bathing suit.

But she's wearing her cute yellow bikini today. Because it's _hot out_.

She briefly lets herself think about what it would be like to go skinny dipping. Probably amazing on a sweltering day like today. But she'd never do it. Plus, she's expecting Gilligan shortly and so she stays rooted to the beach fanning herself with the palm frond. Her brain momentarily – and of its own accord – thinks about what it would be like to go skinny dipping _with _Gilligan and Mary Ann promptly admonishes herself. She gasps and blushes and tries to pretend that she has no idea where that thought came from.

Mary Ann was a little embarrassed to admit to him that she can't swim. But he didn't judge her for it. He doesn't judge her for anything. But she's twenty years old, for goodness sakes. A healthy young woman who climbs trees and rides horses and milks cows is suddenly scared to death of being swallowed up by big bodies of water.

The storm and shipwreck most certainly have something to do with it. The storm was one of the most terrible things she had ever experienced in her life – and she had experienced a lot of terrible things in her life. In the middle of the night she sometimes still hears the wind and the rain and the thunder and the lightning and the waves crashing against the side of the boat until she has to press her pillow over her ears. Sometimes she even makes herself seasick if she thinks about it too hard.

Everyone was scared on the Minnow that day, but Mary Ann soon found herself attached to the poor young first mate, who looked completely out of his depth at what to do with her. So he told her some jokes to calm her down and let her cling to his arm until the Skipper bellowed from above that he needed his help. Gilligan sprang to his feet dutifully, unintentionally pulling Mary Ann up with him as her nails dug into him.

"It'll be fine," he told her calmly as he pried her hands off his arm. "I gotta go help the Skipper."

"But I can't swim!" she blurted, reattaching herself to his arm every time he managed to unlatch one of her hands.

Gilligan took her by the shoulders and steered her to the bench between the Professor and Mr. Howell, gently pushing her into the seat. "We won't have to swim. But if we do, I'll come and get you, first thing. I was the best swimmer in the whole United States Navy," Gilligan asserted, barely missing Mr. Howell roll his eyes. "The Skipper can help everybody else," he continued and Mrs. Howell looked slightly aghast at being abandoned before she was even in danger. "I'll come and get you," Gilligan repeated with a calm gentle smile that Mary Ann still thought about when the storm in her head got too bad. "I'd never let you drown, Mary Ann. I promise."

They didn't have to swim, thankfully, but they've been on the island now for about a month and Mary Ann felt like a total chicken. She cooks and cleans and does the laundry, but she grabs at Gilligan's arm at every thunderstorm, overreacts to every theory that there might be some minor teeny tiny threat that would most likely never amount to anything. She drowns in her fears and she hates it.

She's hearty Midwestern stock and it's about time she started acting like it. So she asked Gilligan to teach her how to swim. After all, he was the best swimmer in the whole United States Navy.

They had their first lesson yesterday when it was twenty degrees cooler and the lukewarm lagoon water wrinkled her skin and seeped into her bones and chilled her for hours. They knelt in the shallowest part of the lagoon, Gilligan in his t-shirt and swim trunks and Mary Ann in her black one-piece suit, while he gave her the unabridged history of swimming until she told him he sounded like the Professor. Then he taught her about breathing by making her blow bubbles in the water like a three year old at her first swim lesson until she was thoroughly annoyed and he was thoroughly amused.

Today, however, was the real stuff. Gilligan's lesson plan included going _in the water_.

Mary Ann would be more scared if she wasn't so eager to get out of this awful heat. Thank goodness she thought to pull her hair up into a ponytail this morning so at least it's not sticking to her neck. She even found a yellow hair ribbon that matches her bathing suit.

Mary Ann sighs. _Who thinks about what they're wearing for a swim lesson?_

A bead of sweat trickles down her spine from under her bikini top and disappears under the waistband of her shorts and she squirms. The heat is making it hard to breathe. She's just about to find a palm frond for her other hand when Gilligan appears, sauntering out of the jungle behind her.

"Hi!" he chirps happily. Gilligan stops beside her to kick off his sneakers, spraying sand over her own feet. He dumps his towel unceremoniously on top of his shoes. He crosses his arms over himself and peels his sweaty t-shirt off over his head, losing his hat in the process. He rumples it up into a ball with a muttered "yuck" and tosses it onto the sand, where millions of grains instantly stick to the wet fabric. He replaces his hat on his head and heads toward the lagoon without another word.

Halfway there, Gilligan seems to realize she's not with him and turns around. Mary Ann is watching him wide eyed, still rooted to the sand next to his t-shirt, the palm frond hovering dumbly by her right shoulder. "Coming?" he asks and she blinks. He's not as scrawny as he looks, lean arm muscles moving under his pale skin as he swings his arms. He awkwardly hops from foot to foot as the sand burns his soles.

Mary Ann nods and sets her towel and the palm frond down on a nearby rock. She takes off her shoes and places them neatly beside the rock. He's still watching her patiently and she wishes he'd turn around as she unzips her shorts and shimmies out of them. When she looks up again his head is craned around toward the waterfall as if it's the most interesting thing he's ever seen.

Mary Ann slows to a stop halfway down the beach. "I don't know if I'm ready, Gilligan," she says, burying her pink painted toenails in the scorching sand. "I've only had one lesson. Maybe we should talk about it more."

Gilligan laughs and comes to collect her. "You'll never learn to swim if you never go in the water."

_Well, that's logical enough._

Gilligan takes her hand and pulls her toward the water. She lags behind - almost resisting, but not quite. He marches straight into the lagoon until the water's up around his knees. Mary Ann stops slightly behind him, clutching his hand with both of hers. They stand in silence for a bit, the water soothing their burning feet. The water laps gently around their legs and the bottom isn't as rocky as Mary Ann had expected, the sand soft under her toes. The lagoon is clear and blue and Mary Ann takes one of her hands from Gilligan's, running her fingertips over the surface, watching the ripples and tiny waves spread out around them.

"That's a different bathing suit," Gilligan says suddenly, startling her.

Mary Ann glances down at her tan midriff. "Oh. Yeah. I didn't rinse out my other one last night. I got this in Hawaii."

"You look like a native Hawaiian girl."

Her eyes widen. "I do?"

"Sure. And now you're gonna learn how to swim like one."

Gilligan deposits his hat on her head and dives gracefully away from her, disappearing under the water like a seal. Mary Ann wrings his hat in her hands until he finally resurfaces about thirty yards away, halfway between her and the gentle curve in the shoreline that empties their lagoon out into the endless blue ocean. He waves at her before slipping back under the water.

He doesn't reappear. Mary Ann knows she shouldn't be worried, but she had no idea he could hold his breath this long. It might even be physically impossible for someone to hold their breath this long. She doesn't even really know how long he's been submerged. "Gilligan?" she calls, but he's disappeared completely. Gone.

She shields her eyes from the blinding sun and scans the horizon. She doesn't even know if he was heading further out or back toward her. "Gilligan!"

Someone taps her on the shoulder and Mary Ann shrieks and whirls around. She loses her footing in the sand and plummets backwards, landing unceremoniously on her rear in the water. Gilligan's standing above her, backlit by the sun, grinning at her. Water drips from his hair, his ears, his chin.

Mary Ann scowls at him from the ground, only her knees, shoulders, and head poking out of the water. "Gilligan!" she yells, panting from the fright.

His grin turns lopsided as he reaches down to help her up. "Sorry." Gilligan hooks both hands under her arms and pulls her back to her feet. He shakes the wet hair out of his eyes like a puppy and flings water droplets all over her. Mary Ann immediately smacks him with his soaking wet hat and he grabs it back from her.

"Don't scare me like that," she pouts, turning sharply away from him. The wet ends of her ponytail send beads of water into his eyes as it whips past his nose. "I could've drowned."

Gilligan raises his eyebrows. "In two feet of water?" Mary Ann crosses her arms and ignores him. He grins wickedly as he momentarily contemplates wringing his wet hat out over her head, but he's already in enough trouble, so he turns and tosses it up onto the beach. "I'd never let you drown, Mary Ann," he adds sincerely, stepping closer behind her. "I promise."

Mary Ann peers at him suspiciously over her shoulder, a small smile playing at her lips. "Okay." She turns back toward him fully and plants her hands on her hips. "So what's the plan for today, Mr. Gilligan?"

"You're going in the water," he says simply and turns her back around, pushing her farther into the lagoon.

"But I was just in the water!" Mary Ann tries to dig her heels into the sand.

"Not long enough." Gilligan knees her in the back of the leg and punches her gently in the back to keep her moving. "You're not even all wrinkly yet."

"I don't want to be all wrinkly!"

"I do!"

Whatever retort Mary Ann is going to come out with next dies on her lips as she feels his hands flatten out around her ribs and begin steering her deeper into the water.

Gilligan finally coaxes her out into the lagoon until the water is lapping gently around his chest. He lets go of her and immediately feels the familiar sensation of Mary Ann's nails digging into his arm.

"It's too deep," she insists.

"No, it's not. There's no current. Nothing bad can happen. Stand still, you'll see."

Mary Ann looks up at Gilligan. He's closed his eyes and is standing perfectly still, his face slightly raised toward the sun. The intense heat is drying his shoulders quickly, but water still glistens in patches. Tiny water droplets cling to the ends of his eyelashes. He looks so peaceful. Mary Ann blushes a little and looks out toward the sea, concentrating on the warm water swirling around her. It's comforting, really. Not at all like the big scary ocean with waves and sharks and storms.

When he feels Mary Ann let go of his arm at last, Gilligan cracks one eye open to peer at her. She has her eyes closed and is smiling prettily. "Well?"

"It's nice," she murmurs.

"I told you. Now you get to swim in it."

Mary Ann's eyes snap open. "But I don't know how!"

Gilligan laughs. "I'm gonna teach you. But first you need to learn how to float. Just in case you're out in the water and you get tired, you can float for a while. But don't fall asleep." Gilligan shakes his head, his eyes wide. "I learned that the hard way. I woke up on the bottom of the pool."

Mary Ann watches him for a second, unsure if he's kidding or not. "Well, okay. How do I do that?"

"On your back," he says and in an instant he has one arm around her back and the other hooked under her knees. She shrieks as he lifts her up until she's half out of the water.

"Gilligan!"

She reaches for him, but he steps back and stretches his arms out in front of him. "Lay back!"

"What?"

"Lay back and float on top of the water!" he almost yells. The last thing he needs is for her to squirm out of his arms and sink to the bottom of the lagoon.

Something in his voice makes Mary Ann listen to him and she quickly realizes that he knows exactly what he's doing. Although she's beginning to doubt his status as the best swimmer in the whole United States Navy. At the very least, he's not the most tactful.

"You have to lie flat," he says more calmly and Mary Ann can feel one of his hands under her back and the other under her knees, gently holding her on the surface of the water. "Push your stomach up. The air in your lungs keeps you buoyant."

Mary Ann takes a deep breath. Not only does it help her float, but it also begins to calm her down. She peers up at him. His face is completely in shadow against the sun, outlining his head like a halo. "That's a big word, Mr. Gilligan."

"Keep your head back or you'll sink."

"Yes, sir." Mary Ann turns from him and closes her eyes against the sun, concentrating on keeping her stomach up and staying afloat. "This hurts my neck," she says after awhile.

Gilligan makes sure her legs are floating on their own, her pedicured toes peeking out of the water, before he switches hands under her back and moves up toward her head. He peers down at her. "Put your head back. You'll float."

"It is back."

"Put your ears under the water."

"I don't want to," she pouts like a little girl.

"You're just making it harder for yourself."

Mary Ann is fully prepared to ignore him until she feels his hand on the back of her head, his fingers disappearing into her hair. He gently pulls her head back until her ears slip under the water. Mary Ann panics only for a second. She isn't sure what she was expecting. The whole lagoon doesn't suddenly rush into her head and rinse her brains away.

"You okay?" he asks. He sounds farther away, muted through the water, but she can still hear him.

She nods. "Uh huh."

"You have to pay attention. Keep your stomach up." He pushes on her back and Mary Ann realizes that she's gotten lazy. "Don't fall asleep."

She smiles. "I won't."

They're quiet for the next few minutes and Mary Ann has to constantly remind herself to stay vigilant so she doesn't sink. Gilligan watches her closely. She looks so peaceful, but is doing a good job of keeping herself afloat. Her ponytail and the ends of the yellow ribbon float out behind her head. She has her arms out for balance and is running her palms gently over the smooth surface of the water. He can feel the water moving behind him and every once in a while her fingers brush his back and they both pretend they don't notice. The parts of her that are out of the water – her face, her toes, the tops of her hands, her stomach – dry quickly under the bright sun, except for the puddle that has gathered in her belly button.

"And for his next trick," Gilligan says suddenly, tearing his eyes away from her, "the Great Gilligani will do the impossible. Oft attempted, but never perfected, behold – the art of levitation!" Mary Ann's smile widens, but she keeps still. "Note how the Great Gilligani is holding his lovely assistant up with only his two bare hands. But wait! What's this? He's letting go? It can't be!"

Mary Ann feels his right hand detangle itself from her hair. A moment later, his other hand leaves her back. He pulls both hands out of the water and shows them to his imaginary audience and then takes a step back from his assistant. "He's done it!" he rejoices, throwing both arms up into the air, water droplets flying from his fingertips and drizzling down on her. "The Great Gilligani has mastered levitation! Take that, Houdini! Tell us how you did it, Great Gilligani!"

"Well, I can't tell you, Chuck," Gilligan continues in his smooth magician's voice, "because then it wouldn't be magic. Although I can assure you that I am amazing and my assistant is doing absolutely no work whatsoever right now. In fact, she's fast asleep."

Mary Ann bursts out laughing. Before she realizes what's happening, her stomach deflates and her pelvis sinks and she folds in on herself. She feels the hot humid air on her fingertips and toes one last time before they slip underwater and she's totally submerged.

Gilligan lets out one of the more colorful expressions he learned in the Navy and plunges underwater.

He pulls Mary Ann to the surface only a second later, both arms tight around her waist. "I'm sorry!" he sputters. "Mary Ann, I'm sorry!"

Mary Ann blinks rapidly, gasping for air. Her nose tingles, her eyes burn. She clings to his shoulders, disoriented, as he holds her up high in the water.

Gilligan reaches up and clumsily pulls her bangs out of her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asks and she nods. "Are you sure? Do you want to quit for today? We should quit for today."

Mary Ann shakes her head through a coughing fit.

"Are you sure?"

Mary Ann nods and takes a deep breath. "No. I'm fine. Really."

Gilligan frowns at her as she wipes at her eyes, smearing black across her face. "Why are you wearing makeup to a swimming lesson?"

Mary Ann peers down at her smudged fingertips, then at his face, his brows furrowed curiously. Not judging, never judging, just curious. This makes even less sense than wearing a hair ribbon to a swimming lesson. She sighs. "You know how we are. Girls always like to look their best."

Gilligan shrugs, jostling her against his chest. "It's just me."

She smiles. "I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

When Gilligan arrives at the lagoon the next morning, Mary Ann is already there, practicing her floating in the shallowest water she can stay buoyant in. She does okay for a few moments, then inevitably finds her rear end heading for the bottom of the lagoon. She flails, her legs splashing. She squeaks out something Gilligan can't decipher from this distance, and lands hard on her butt in the sand. She stands up and twists around, trying to see what damage was done. She brushes the wet sand from the back of her bikini and takes a deep breath, preparing to try again.

Yesterday after Gilligan pulled her from under the water, Mary Ann repeatedly insisted that she was okay and wanted to continue her lesson, but she made no move to let go of the poor first mate. She must've looked so pathetic, her mascara running down her face, gripping his bare shoulders, eyes wide and scared despite her assertions that she was perfectly fine.

So her teacher made the decision that they were done for the day and scooped her up and carried her out of the lagoon, past her towel and her shorts, and through the jungle straight into camp. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her makeup smeared across her face making her look like a rabid raccoon, as he strode past the men, who looked appropriately flabbergasted, and Mrs. Howell, who looked moderately thrilled. He carried her all the way into the hut where he finally left her in Ginger's care and then returned to the beach to collect their things.

Mary Ann floats in the water, sticking her stomach up toward the sun probably more than she needs to in order to stay afloat. The day is hotter than the one before, if possible. She wears her yellow bathing suit again today, leaving the black one in a ball on the ground in the corner of her hut. She piled her hair high atop her head this morning, but the yellow ribbon is there, peeking out from amidst a heap of brunette waves.

She also borrowed Ginger's waterproof mascara when she wasn't looking.

Mary Ann floats for a few minutes, lost in thoughts of how silly she's being and trying to figure out exactly why. She sighs. She knows exactly why. _Everyone_ knows exactly why – that's the worst part. Ginger's been giving her looks since the second hour they were on the Minnow. Every time Gilligan would saunter by with a tray of tropical drinks, bow low to the passengers and use his silly waiter voice that made Mary Ann laugh, Ginger would arch a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in her direction. The movie star didn't even know her – and yet she knew everything about her.

The incident with the alleged supply hut robber hadn't helped either. Gilligan was telling a completely ridiculous story and she had blurted out how marvelous he was, hands clasped below her chin, eyes wide and shining and Ginger told her later that she had almost thrown up from the sheer cuteness of it all. And they had barely been on the island a week.

Subtlety was never her strong suit, but Mary Ann was relieved that at least Gilligan seemed not to notice these types of things. And if he did he never brought it up. That didn't stop everyone else from doing so.

She really does want him to teach her how to swim, though. And not just because it means long stretches of uninterrupted time that she gets to spend with him. She's tired of feeling like a wimp. Even though she does a large percentage of the work on the island, they still baby her. Just like her aunt and uncle babied her at home because of her "situation." She wants to move forward in life – not stand still. She'd felt like she was standing still for a long time, but then she won the trip to Hawaii – finally, an adventure! And a shipwreck. But after a month, they settled into something of a routine and now she feels like she's standing still again. Treading water. She hasn't learned how to do that yet, but from what Gilligan's told her, it sounds like a good enough analogy.

A voice suddenly penetrates her thoughts, floating over to her from the beach. "Looks like you don't need me anymore."

She's startled, but she manages to stand up a lot more gracefully than before. Gilligan's on the beach watching her carefully. "Don't be silly, Gilligan," she says as he dumps his shoes, towel, and hat in a pile right on top of a wet patch of sand. He yanks his t-shirt over his head next, briefly getting tangled in the sweaty sleeves. He finally frees himself and scowls at his shirt as he tosses it aside. His hair is sticking up at odd angles and Mary Ann laughs. "Of course I need you." Mary Ann clasps her hands behind her as he splashes into the lagoon. "What are we doing first?"

"Arms."

"Arms?"

"Yeah. You gotta have strong arms to swim. Like this." Gilligan raises his fists and flexes his arm muscles, arranging his face into a very serious manly scowl.

Mary Ann laughs, but can't resist slipping her hands around his bicep and giving it a squeeze. "I'm impressed." Mary Ann lets go of his arm and heads out toward deeper water. "Look at me, out in the water. I'm not even putting up a fight today."

Gilligan grins. "Now _I'm_ impressed." He's quiet for a minute and then meets her eyes seriously. "Are you sure you're okay after yesterday? We can skip a day if you want."

"Gilligan, I've fallen off a lot of horses in my day. And you know what they say about falling off horses, don't you?"

"It hurts?"

"Well ... yes," she concedes. "But you have to get back on right away or else you might never do it. Right?"

Gilligan pouts. "Yeah, I guess. But I –."

"Gilligan." Mary Ann tugs on his arm. "It's fine. I'm okay. I need to learn how to take care of myself sooner or later. That's why I need to learn how to swim. You don't want to have to come rescue me all the time, do you?"

Gilligan shrugs noncommittally, gazing out over the water. "I don't mind."

Mary Ann beams up at him. "You're quite the hero, sailor." She pulls on his hand, backing farther into the lagoon. "Now teach me about arms."

Gilligan spends the better part of the next hour showing her all the different arm movements for the basic swim strokes. He demonstrates and she copies him, picking up on the movements quickly. He stutters every time he has to say "breaststroke" and Mary Ann smiles, but doesn't tease him about it. She quickly learns that swimming is all about angles and which direction her palms are facing and when he starts talking about drag and resistance and propulsion, her head starts spinning and she tells him he really does sound like the Professor this time.

Gilligan scowls, but informs her that she's learned everything he knows about arms anyway and that it's time for legs. He glances around the lagoon, brow creasing in consternation.

"What's the matter?"

"At home we learned how to kick by holding on to the edge of the pool. There's nothing to hold on to out here." He glances back at Mary Ann, who's watching him innocently. After a moment his eyes light up proudly with an idea. "Hang on to my shoulders. I'll be the side of the pool. The Skipper says talking to me is like talking to a wall anyway."

"Oh, Gilligan." Mary Ann puts her arms over his shoulders and laces her fingers together behind his neck. "I find you very affable." She smiles up at him as his face twists in confusion. "It means easy to talk to. Now what do I do?"

"Just kick your feet on the surface. It's easy."

Mary Ann's hands press against the back of his neck as she tentatively lifts her feet from the sandy bottom and raises her legs behind her. After a few kicks she raises her grinning face to his. "Like that?"

Gilligan hadn't anticipated how close her face would be to his when he had this brilliant idea. Their noses are just a few inches apart and she's staring directly into his eyes expectantly, waiting for an answer. He nods dumbly and looks away, turning his gaze on her feet to give some semblance that he's trying to accurately answer her question. But her yellow bikini-clad rear end is in his line of vision, bobbing halfway out of the water and blocking her feet from view.

He quickly looks away at the shoreline. At the sky. A lone bird crosses the blue void and disappears into the jungle canopy. At the waterfall to their right. Down at the water beside them. He accidentally brushes her arm with his cheek and spends a few long moments looking down at it. Goosebumps rise up and down it despite the sweltering heat.

"How come you asked me to teach you how to swim and not the Skipper or the Professor?"

"You're more fun than they are," Mary Ann replies. "And the Professor would use even more big words than you did. Besides, I thought you were the best swimmer in the whole United States Navy?"

Gilligan chances a glance back at her out of the corner of his eye. "I might have made that up," he confides conspiratorially.

Mary Ann nods seriously. "I promise not to report you," she whispers back.

Gilligan looks away again. He clears his throat then and launches into a lecture about all the different types of kicks. He describes them and Mary Ann tries to figure them out, but she feels like she's flailing in vain half the time. He's halfway through describing a flutter kick when Mary Ann stops dead in the water and turns huge eyes on him.

"What's the matter?"

She blinks and looks confused for a moment. "Nothing." She moves her feet again, giving five or six half-hearted kicks before she suddenly shrieks like a banshee. Gilligan reels backwards, the piercing sound bouncing off his eardrums and reverberating around his skull. Mary Ann grips his shoulders and pulls herself toward him.

"What?" he yells, barely able to hear himself over the ringing in his ears. "_What?_"

"Something bit me!" Mary Ann grabs at him with her hands and feet, splashing water up into his face.

Gilligan turns his head away from the spray and screws his eyes shut. "It's just seaweed!"

"With _teeth_? It _bit me_!"

Gilligan finally gets an arm around her middle and pulls her around to one side of him. He wipes the water from his face with his free hand. He feels Mary Ann's feet on his thigh as she scrambles for purchase, trying to climb up him as high out of the water as she can.

"Mary Ann, stop! Relax!" Gilligan backs up a few feet, away from the scene of the crime, and her panic begins to subside. She stares at the water with huge eyes, waiting for some horrible monster to appear and eat them both. She's unconsciously wrapped herself tightly around him, almost sitting on his hip like a baby, her fingernails digging into his shoulders.

Gilligan squints at the surface of the water. Its calm now, the few ripples left from the commotion gradually flattening. He takes a slow step forward. "What are you doing?" Mary Ann hisses.

Gilligan narrows one eye and takes another step forward. "Investigating."

"Well, do it without me," she replies indignantly.

"Okay. Stay here." Gilligan takes her around the waist with both hands and tries to pry her off of him.

"Don't leave me here by myself!" She tightens her arms and legs around him.

"Mary Ann, there's nothing dangerous in this lagoon. I promise."

"Then what bit me?" Mary Ann lifts her foot out of the water to show him the red mark on her big toe.

Gilligan shrugs. "That doesn't look so bad."

"Gilligan!"

"Okay, okay. Let me figure it out." Mary Ann goes silent as he arranges a businesslike expression on his face again. With every step he takes closer to the spot where she was bitten, Mary Ann's grip on him tightens until they're practically cheek-to-cheek, her nervous breathing loud in his ear. He suddenly realizes how loud he must sound when he's peering closely over the Professor's shoulder as he does a delicate experiment. Although he's positive that that bothers the Professor in quite a different way than this is bothering him. Gilligan peers at her from the corner of his eye. "Mary Ann, I can't concentrate."

"Sorry," she whispers, but loosens her hold on him only a little. A tendril of her wet hair peels off the side of his face as she turns away.

Gilligan takes his arm from around her waist and she moves around behind him, peering warily over his shoulder. Gilligan stands low in the water, both arms out in front of him. He cocks his head, closes one eye, and squints down the length of his arm toward the water. He turns in a slow circle.

"Now what are you doing?" Mary Ann demands from behind him. He had almost forgotten she was there, but now he's acutely aware of the fact that she's attached to his back like a baby koala.

"My arms block the glare of the sun off the water so I can see better." He pauses and Mary Ann can hear the smug smile creep into his voice. "It's science."

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Bubbles," he whispers, so seriously and reverently that Mary Ann quiets. She wraps her arms around his neck and leans forward to look over his shoulder.

Gilligan takes another step. The jungle is quiet on a sweltering day like this. The air is heavy and still. There isn't even a breeze. The tiniest movement would be noticeable if you were paying attention.

"There!" he says so suddenly that Mary Ann flinches. Her fist smashes into his windpipe and her knees dig into his sides.

"What?"

"Bubbles!" Gilligan turns his palm toward the sky and submerges his hand in the water. After a few moments he smiles. When he lifts his hand from the water, the most normal-looking non-threatening fish Mary Ann has ever seen is cradled in his hand. "It's Irving!"

"Irving?" Mary Ann's eyes widen in disbelief and the fish almost smiles at her.

"Yeah, I catch him almost every day. But don't call him Irv. He hates that." The fish's mouth opens and closes a few times in protest. "See?"

"_That's_ what bit me?" she asks as Gilligan submerges most of Irving's body back in the water so he can breathe. The fish doesn't swim away, but stays cradled quite comfortably in Gilligan's hand.

"Yeah. He likes the color pink. He must've seen the nail polish on your toes." Irving's mouth opens and closes again and Gilligan cranes his neck to look over his shoulder at her. "He says it looks nice."

Mary Ann's brow furrows and she glances at Gilligan, who's grinning. "Are you serious?"

Gilligan's eyes widen and he nods toward the fish. "He gave you a compliment," Gilligan mumbles out of the side of his mouth so Irving can't hear him.

Mary Ann sighs. "Thanks, Irving."

"You wanna pet him?" Gilligan chirps.

"What? No, that's okay."

"Aw, come on. He likes girls." Gilligan lifts Irving out of the water again. The fish opens his mouth a few times. "He says he's sorry he scared you."

Mary Ann frowns. "No, thanks."

"What are you, chicken?"

Mary Ann freezes.

_Even Gilligan._

But, no, he's teasing her. Of course he's teasing her. He's giving her that look that's part playful and part challenge. _I dare you, Mary Ann_, it says. She can never resist that face.

"No," Mary Ann harrumphs. "I'm not chicken." She detangles her arms from around Gilligan's neck and climbs off his back. She moves around in front of him and reaches out tentatively. Irving and Gilligan both fix her with a pointed look. She draws her hand back, reaches out again, and draws it back again.

Gilligan laughs. "It's okay. You don't have to."

"No." Mary Ann's brow creases in determination. She cups her hands and scoops up a handful of crisp, cool salt water. "Give me that fish, Gilligan."

Gilligan laughs again and lets Irving wriggle from his hands into hers. The fish wags his tail happily and Mary Ann swears for the second time that he smiles at her. "See, he likes you," Gilligan says.

Irving opens his mouth a few more times. "What did he say?" Mary Ann asks before she realizes how ridiculous she must sound.

"He was just agreeing with me," Gilligan replies, shrugging casually. "He thinks you're sweet. You're the nicest girl he's ever met."

Mary Ann laughs. "I'm probably the only girl he's ever met. Well, I think you're sweet, too, Irving. Just don't bite me anymore, okay?"

Irving bobs up and down in her hands like he's nodding.

"You better let him go, Mary Ann. He'll be late for school."

The water is escaping through her fingers at an alarming rate, so Mary Ann lowers her hands back into the water. She hesitates before releasing him, anxious to show once and for all how brave she really is.

Mary Ann leans down and gives Irving a quick kiss on the top of his head. When he's gone, she straightens up and plants her hands on her hips. She gives Gilligan a proud look. The first mate shakes his head and grins. "He's never gonna leave you alone now."

"That's okay. I like him." Mary Ann smiles up at Gilligan. His ears have turned red, although it might just be sunburn. "So where were we?"

"Oh. Kicks."

Mary Ann nods and they wordlessly get back into position. She links her hands behind his neck again, raising her feet to kick on the surface of the water. Gilligan's quiet for a little while before he suddenly launches back into his lecture, beginning exactly where he left off.

After describing the rest of the kicks, Gilligan's pretty sure he's mixed up which ones go with which arms, so they eventually give up trying to distinguish the correct pairs. He concludes that a kick is a kick and as long as it gets you where you need to go, it's a-okay in his book. And since he's the teacher, Mary Ann isn't inclined to argue with him.

"Point your toes," he reminds her. "Like a ballerina."

Mary Ann lifts her head and grins up at him. "I used to be a ballerina."

"Really?"

"I was six."

Gilligan laughs. "Did you have a giant tutu?"

"Of course. I couldn't fit through the barn door."

Gilligan narrows one eye at her suspiciously. "You're kidding. I think."

"It was still bigger than I was. I couldn't turn properly in it and my teacher would have a fit. I ended up on the floor half the time. I wasn't a much better dancer than I am a swimmer. I guess I'm just not that graceful."

"No, you're doing really good, Mary Ann. Except you're sinking right now."

Mary Ann cranes her neck around toward her feet, which have disappeared completely beneath the surface of the water without her noticing. They're still kicking underwater, but they're doing far less good.

Gilligan's palms flatten across her abdomen and her feet slow to a complete stop. She feels the humid air on the back of her legs again as he pushes her gently back up to the surface.

"Keep going," he says and she snaps back to attention, willing her feet back into motion. "Every time you raise your head, your legs sink. That's what happened yesterday."

Mary Ann blinks. "Sorry."

"You'll have to put your face in the water eventually or you'll end up swimming like Barnaby."

His hands are still there, hovering just below her to catch her if she sinks again. Every once in a while, when she least suspects it, his fingers brush her skin lightly as she bobs in the water. "Who?"

"My dog."

Mary Ann frowns at him. "Gilligan. Besides, if I do that then I can't talk to you."

"You want to learn how to swim, don't you?"

They both stubbornly hold their ground for a moment until Mary Ann has an idea and makes a rash decision. She pulls herself closer to him. She slides her arms around his neck and lays her cheek down on her arm. The water laps up over her arm, brushing her cheek, but she can still breathe and still talk to him.

Mary Ann feels a little reckless, like one of those girls who would strut around town kissing their boyfriends in public. But Gilligan's right – she has much better balance when she keeps her head closer to the surface of the water. When she speaks, her breath is warm on his skin and he flinches. "Better?"

Mary Ann watches his Adam's apple travel the length of his throat as he swallows hard. "Yeah."

"Thanks for teaching me how to swim."

"You're welcome." Gilligan is quiet for a long moment. The only sound is that of the water splashing from Mary Ann's practice kicks. He can feel her eyelashes lightly brushing his shoulder when she blinks. "How come you wanted to learn how to swim now?" he asks. "I guess what with living on an island it'd make sense to learn. Besides, now you can play Marco Polo and pie plate catch with me. It's more fun in the water. And the Skipper isn't much of a challenge anymore."

"Is that where all my pie plates have been disappearing to?" she asks.

"Um. No."

Mary Ann laughs and they descend into quasi-comfortable silence again. Gilligan finally frowns. "It was the shipwreck, wasn't it?" he asks quietly and Mary Ann's arms tighten instinctively around him. She sighs heavily and her breath rushes over his skin, ruffling the hair behind his ear.

"I always feel like such a wimp."

"You're not a wimp. You're a girl."

"Gilligan."

"That's not what I meant."

"I'm just tired of feeling like a chicken."

Gilligan frowns. "I didn't mean that," he says quietly.

"I know."

"I think you're tough," he says after a moment. "You have to be tough to live on a farm and to have your life. A lot of stuff happened to you and you're still always so happy."

"So much has happened. And I am mostly happy, but it does scare me. I want to be brave, but sometimes it's overwhelming. Like I'm drowning." Mary Ann suddenly realizes she's stopped kicking and the water feels like liquid lead on her legs, weighing them down.

Gilligan's quiet. Mary Ann can tell he's thinking hard and she holds her breath. This is usually when he says something unintentionally deep or poetic. "The ocean is a big place and lots of stuff can happen, but you have to just keep swimming. I told you I wouldn't let you drown, Mary Ann." His palms flatten over her abdomen again and he pushes her back up to the surface. "Ever."


	3. Chapter 3

_I apologize for the crazy delay in finishing this! I started grad school a few weeks ago and my life is no longer my own. I wanted to get this out (instead of doing homework – oops) because I hate leaving things unfinished for so long! Thanks for your patience and I hope this last chapter provides sufficient closure, it was written rather quickly._

**Three**

_A few days after "How To Be A Hero."_

Mary Ann stands on the beach watching the sleek figure move swiftly through the water. It glides, kicks, submerges and emerges, turns around and starts the lap all over again.

Gilligan is frustrated, she can tell. His palms cut forcefully through the water with every stroke. He has every reason to be upset and it's all her fault.

She watches him take out his aggression on the water, swimming back and forth across the lagoon in perfect military laps. His breathing is so perfectly timed that Mary Ann doesn't even notice it for the first few laps she observes.

He really could be the best swimmer in the whole United States Navy.

He swims across the lagoon, straight under the waterfall, and somersaults, pushing off the rocks with his feet and shooting out from the dark rocky crevice into the sunlit water like a torpedo. When he reaches the other side of the lagoon there are no rocks to push off of, so he has to stop and stand up for a moment to turn around.

She wishes she could swim like that. Freely, without a second thought, as if it's second nature. Instead she only knows a few basic strokes, probably enough to get her by, but she won't dare try again, not after what happened.

Mary Ann hasn't had a swimming lesson in over a week. Not since the day she had her lesson about kicks, the day she met Irving. The day she laid her head on Gilligan's shoulder and he held her up and promised her – again – that he'd never let her drown.

Because the next day _she_ almost drowned _him_.

Ginger had been teasing her that morning, probably about her favorite subject – guys – and Mary Ann had been putting up with it admirably. The movie star teased her a lot and Mary Ann usually liked it, or at least didn't mind it, and it reminded her of what it might be like to have an older sister.

"Oh, Mary Ann!" the actress laughed. "Don't be such a chicken!"

It was good natured, Mary Ann knew, but in that instant all she heard was confirmation of her biggest weakness from a woman she admired.

"I am not a chicken!" Mary Ann shot back, a bit childishly, hating herself for being on the verge of tears.

She grabbed her towel and her bathing cap from the table. She scooped up her black swimsuit from where it still lay in a ball in the corner next to the door and left the hut in a dramatic flounce that the movie star herself would hope to emulate.

She wasn't ready, she knew that and it was confirmed for her when the Skipper had to rescue both her and Gilligan, but she wanted to prove something to herself.

Mary Ann stands on the beach watching Gilligan attack the water with each sharp stroke. He propels himself through the water faster than anyone she's ever seen, rivaling even dolphins and seals.

When he reaches the edge of the lagoon and stands up to turn around, he sees her. Mary Ann knows he sees her. He hesitates only for a second and dives back under the water before she can say anything. She wades into the lagoon until the water laps gently around her waist, reaching up over the waistband of her yellow bikini bottoms to caress her skin. The heat wave had finally broken and the heat isn't as stifling as last week, so she left her hair down this morning, but tied the yellow ribbon around her head like a headband. She doesn't anticipate doing any real swimming today anyway.

Gilligan pushes off the wall behind the waterfall and Mary Ann sees him glide past her about a yard out. When he stands up to turn around this time, she's ready for him. "Hey, sailor."

"Hey." He prepares to dive back under the water, but stops when she speaks again.

"Can I talk to you?"

He stays rooted to the sandy lagoon bottom for a moment, indecision creasing his brow. "Sure," he finally says as he straightens up. Gilligan splashes over to her, the water undulating and rippling under Mary Ann's palms as she holds them just on top of the velvety surface.

Gilligan stops in front of her and waits. Water is dripping from his hair and earlobes and running down his shoulders. He blinks the droplets from his eyelashes and raises a hand to rub the water from his face. Mary Ann watches lines of water run off his shoulders and down his chest and then pulls her gaze up to his face. He looks a little defeated, a little sad, but his stubbornness is there as well. It always is.

"I'm sorry, Gilligan."

He shrugs. "What for?"

"For not giving you proper credit for saving me. For not thanking you. For almost drowning you."

"I didn't save you."

"Well, you would have if it weren't for me." Mary Ann sighs. "I always make everything so hard for you."

Gilligan shakes his head. "No, you don't."

"I told everyone what happened. I told them that you jumped in first and it was all my fault." Gilligan doesn't say anything. After a moment Mary Ann glances around with heightened interest, squinting against the bright sunlight. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Practicing. So that'll never happen again. I promised, Mary Ann. I always keep my promises."

Out of habit, Mary Ann reaches out to playfully tug on his shirt until she remembers that he's not wearing one. Her hand hovers in the space between them for a moment before she drops it back into the water. "Yes, you do."

"I've been trained for situations like this, Mary Ann. For people panicking. And I failed."

"No, you didn't. You know that people panicking is dangerous, right?" Gilligan nods glumly and Mary Ann takes one of his hands in hers. "But you still jumped in anyway. That's real bravery. You thought about me before you thought about yourself."

"Well, sure, Mary Ann. I –."

Mary Ann lifts her other hand from the water and presses a finger to his lips. "I put you in danger and you have no idea how guilty I feel about that. You have a lot of courage, Gilligan." Mary Ann takes her finger from his lips and lays her hand on his chest. "And a lot of heart. I feel a lot braver knowing you're around. Thank you."

Gilligan lowers his head and looks down at the small hand against his skin. It's warm. The warmth sinks in, seeps through his pores and touches his heart.

"You might not think you're a hero. And you might not think that anyone else thinks you're a hero. But I think you're a hero. You're _my_ hero."

Gilligan's head snaps up and his eyes widen. Mary Ann's smiling up at him, genuinely. Before he can react, Mary Ann is up on her toes, one hand pulling on his hand, the other pressing against his chest as she draws herself up taller to press her lips quickly to his.

Gilligan briefly tastes the unusual concoction of salt water and lip gloss and it almost knocks him over, and then it's gone.

Mary Ann wraps her arms around his neck. She hugs him tightly and Gilligan instinctively hugs her back, like that day on the Minnow after the storm drifted away and they realized they had made it through. She giggles and he knows that in the altered gravity of the water he's inadvertently lifted her off her feet. Mary Ann squeezes her arms around his shoulders and turns her face to whisper in his ear.

"So are you gonna teach me how to swim or what?"

Gilligan grins. "Yeah." Their wet abdomens peel apart as he sets her gently back down on the bottom of the lagoon. "But we gotta be okay where we are before we can start moving. Maybe we should start with treading water."

Mary Ann nods and grins. "I like that."


End file.
